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This is the second in a series of posts about student field trips to the east coast; namely to Washington, D.C., New York City, Philadelphia and/or Boston. Read part one here. With tough economic times and budget crunches at schools, some may think these trips are not fiscally feasible. You might be surprised.

GETTING STARTED: THE BIG SECRET

In the seven times I’ve been in Washington, D.C. with groups of students, I’ve started up chats with many students and chaperons from other schools across the country. They all (99% of them) have one thing in common: they used a travel company to plan the trip for them. Teachers have no doubt seen the shiny travel company brochures these companies mail to us. They have bright, colorful pictures, offer amazing itineraries, are organized and have customer service representatives standing by twenty-four hours a day. They all claim to be the best and they are all also very expensive.

These companies work to build the perfect itinerary. They save organizers a lot of work, but they come with a hefty price tag. Time is money. In times like these, our time organizing (rather than theirs) is money saved. I’ve never used a tour company, which saves literally thousands of dollars. Now, one might be thinking that the quality of the trip will lessen because “professionals” are not in charge. I believe the opposite is ture. Not only will you save money (and yes, it will take up a great deal of the organizer’s time), it will actually make the trip more personal to the needs and desires of your group. Many tour companies charter a bus, and you’ll find you’re sharing the bus with another school group.

You don’t need a tour guide with a microphone if you do a little research, especially if the organizer has been there before. I take the microphopne in the buses we charter and provide an entertaining, meaningful, personalized experience for my kids.

Here are a few thoughts you might have when thinking about planning a trip like this on your own, along with my response:

• “It’s impossible.” Where there’s a will there’s a way. Don’t do it alone, work with a few others, but make sure to coordinate so things don’t overlap.
• “The travel companies offer accident insurance: we need that.” True, but you can purchase this on your own, and you won’t believe how inexpensive it is (usually $2.00 per student per day). Do a Google search for student travel insurance. We use UnitedHealthCare.
• “Without a travel copany, there’s no security at hotels.” Not true. Hotels have security. What they have in place is adequate, and a chat with the hotel manager will usually get them to watch out a little extra. Lobby staff know that children shouldn’t be wandering out of the building alone. Some hotels will give you an option to pay for extra security.

The bottom line is this: by eliminating the travel company, you’re eliminating the middle man–the expensive middle man. Expect to do a lot of work, but expect to see it be one of the most rewarding things you’ve ever done!

Part III offers some “hot tips” in the planning process, and will alleviate some further concerns you may have.

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Mr. Franklin has been teaching for the Los Angeles Unified School District for eleven years. He has won District and County Teacher of the Year awards, as well as the prestigious Bank of America Community Hero award. Before teaching,

he spent five years at Learning Forum, which runs summer camps world-wide that increase student academic potential.

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Related posts:

1. School Trips on a Tight Budget (Part 1)
2. &quot;Your Child Has Been Nominated&quot;–A Lesson for Students, Parents and Teachers
3. Back To School Savings In A Tight Economy With A Tight Wallet
4. Dealing With School Budget Cuts! What Goes?
5. Has Public School Already Been Privatized?

Tags: school budgets, school trips, Steve Franklin, travel companies, Washington D.C.

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 20th, 2011 at 12:01 am and is filed under Steve Franklin. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.